Canon or Nikon, which one?

[Shanghai Steve]

Louise, do not despair.

I spent four days convincing myself last week that I needed a 70-200mm 2.8, visited the shop twice, and on the fifth day came to my senses because I could not answer the question 'WHY'

We ALL do it

I know exactly how you feel. I had dinner with a colleague in a swanky part of town the other day and "wandered in" to a main Leica dealer. I told the rep up-front that I was not in the market but within minutes I found myself playing aroumd with the new monochrome. I left the place trying to figure out how long it would take to save 100,000 RMB! Cue a few days online comparing Leica to Zeiss and researching the best adaptors!

But I have decided to go the classic manual prime route and will be going to Luban Lu to see which ZM lenses are available, when time (and funds) allow! 😊

[LouiseTopp]

Hi I played with my friends Nikon this afternoon, she has the next model up and I liked what I saw (althrough the flash kept popping up, so I kept accessing the menu to turn it off). It does a bit more then my Pentax (apart from it being weatherproof)

I might seriously consider getting one.

[Donald]

I think that's a good idea Louise. You seem very keen on getting a new camera body, so if you've found one that you like and that is what you want, then you should go for it.

An awful lot of people with an awful lot of knowledge and experience have, on here, given you a huge amount of advice and guidance. Much of that has been about you really needing to ask yourself if you do need to invest in a new camera system. Indeed, some people have suggested that you'd be taking a backward step to go on the route you have been planning.

But if your mind is made up, as it seems to be, then you just need to go and get on with what you want to do. I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever body it is that you do end up buying. But remember, it's not the camera that makes great pictures, it's the person behind it.

[Shadowman]

Hi I played with my friends Nikon this afternoon, she has the next model up and I liked what I saw (althrough the flash kept popping up, so I kept accessing the menu to turn it off). It does a bit more then my Pentax (apart from it being weatherproof)

I might seriously consider getting one.

I would suggest you and your friend swap cameras for the day and see what output each can produce.

[Black Pearl]

Hi I played with my friends Nikon this afternoon, she has the next model up and I liked what I saw (althrough the flash kept popping up, so I kept accessing the menu to turn it off). It does a bit more then my Pentax (apart from it being weatherproof)

I might seriously consider getting one.

If you were playing with a D7xxx series body then the current ones have many features that you will find familia and some that you will love - a D7100 or a D7200 would be a nice step up from the K30 (not as well sealed but still good enough) and if you match it with a new lens a good base for your photography to grow.

I won't go as far as saying its the best thing you could do as I still feel good glass on your current body would be the best route if budgets are tight but the 7k series Nikon's are nice.

[MrB]

Louise, the K-30 is a very capable camera so is this thread prompted by you having a problem with it? If so, have you asked for help and advice from the people at the company that sold it to you?

Cheers.
Philip

[Stagecoach]

Louise, I'm going to approach this thread again from a different angle but I think it's supported by a number of the comments here.

I took the time to have a look at a lot of your work on the web out of interest (plus I was born in Salisbury and lived there for 12 years) and really get the feeling (I may be wrong) that you think another camera/lens combo is going to give you 'better' images.

Whilst I have no experience of the camera/lens combo you have when I read that people like Robin sing its praises it suggests to me that in the right hands it can produce very good results.

Looking at many of the images I see a shortage in basic procedure and PP that would have considerably enhanced the subject and final presentation. I do not mean to be demeaning in any way at all but wonder if you have really pushed your present kit to it's limits?

But I will also say that having a new bit of kit in your hands can give that impetus and challenge to our photography

Grahame

[LouiseTopp]

Looking at many of the images I see a shortage in basic procedure and PP that would have considerably enhanced the subject and final presentation.

Can you explain a bit more please?

[Stagecoach]

Can you explain a bit more please?

Hi Louise,

Firstly, certainly I will explain more and first of all a proviso on my comments are in that in looking at any images on the web, the viewer (me) has no idea at what point in the photographers stage of learning (experience) they were taken. I will also say that there are many 'good' images spread about within the various sites of your work I looked at as well as some 'not so good' ones

Secondly, none of my comments and views are anything to do with chosen subjects or compositions.

Looking at this site http://louisetopp-aura.blogspot.com/ the first thing that struck me was the 'reds' in the flowers where a loss of detail is very apparent but when we look at other coloured flowers, great. To me this suggests your procedure is not right?

Looking at some of the sunset shots we see severe halos from over-processing and noise. The Salisbury Cathedral shot at the bottom is another example of an image that has been extremely over-processed I suspect due to not getting the in camera part right.

So my take on this is that at a glance it seems that your images with 'decent/average/ideal photography' lighting and subject colours are giving you good results but where the lighting and subject colour is 'difficult' the results could be better with better technique both in camera and PP.

Hope that explains my observations but it may very well be that someone who knows the capability of your camera well, possibly Robin, could come back and say it could not achieve better in those circumstances.

Grahame

[Black Pearl]

The sensor in the K30 though not bang up to date is the rock solid Sony 16mp unit used in dozens of bodies across a few brands and capable of very good results - even my X-T1 has the guts of it buried under all the Fuji X-Trans gubbins.

[singlerosa]

Louise, do not despair.

I spent four days convincing myself last week that I needed a 70-200mm 2.8, visited the shop twice, and on the fifth day came to my senses because I could not answer the question 'WHY'

We ALL do it

Because you might find out it would be your favorite lens. Great for portraits and tele use. Great bokeh, fast focusing, sharp and VR. I bought an 85 1.8 last year and hardly use it. While I have 3 primes, I find zooms, especially 2.8 zooms to give me much more flexibility and much less lens-changing or carrying multiple bodies.

[rpcrowe]

Value of the 70-200mm focal length...

My 70-200mm is one of my favorite lenses on either crop or full frame cameras. However, I opted for the Canon f/4 IS version because of the reduced weight of that lens at the cost of only one f/stop... IMO, the 70-200mm f/2.8 (at least Canon's version) is too heavy for me to comfortably carry around on an all day photo jaunt. The fact that the f/4L IS version is less expensive than the f/2.8 model did not hurt my feelings a bit. But that was not the reason I selected that lens over the f/2.8 version...

I generally shoot with a pair of crop cameras wearing two lenses (most often the 70-200mm f/4L IS and the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS). I can carry the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens mounted on a second crop camera at roughly the same weight as carrying the f/2.8 (series) lens alone.

I shoot at least 1/3 of all my imagery, including all of my dog and human portraits with the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and I would miss it terribly if it disappeared from my kit.

[Stagecoach]

Louise, do not despair.

I spent four days convincing myself last week that I needed a 70-200mm 2.8, visited the shop twice, and on the fifth day came to my senses because I could not answer the question 'WHY'

We ALL do it

Because you might find out it would be your favorite lens. Great for portraits and tele use. Great bokeh, fast focusing, sharp and VR. I bought an 85 1.8 last year and hardly use it. While I have 3 primes, I find zooms, especially 2.8 zooms to give me much more flexibility and much less lens-changing or carrying multiple bodies.

Jim,

My comment to Louise was more to do with knowing 'Why' you personally need/wish to change/upgrade something and ensuring you have investigated all avenues before making a decision.

With respect to the lens I mentioned, 70-200 mm 2.8, my decision was based upon what I already have, what I shoot, convenience of FL and what that bit of kit could improve with my pictures. The answer was 'nothing'.

Now if I find myself shooting indoor sports in the future that specific lens could become a necessary addition to my kit